


Boys Like You

by uwuraka



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Angst and Humor, Artist Keith (Voltron), Boyfriends, Boys In Love, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt, Enemies to Lovers, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), Guitarist Lance (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Possible smut but idk, Romantic Fluff, Rough Kissing, Singer/guitarist Lance, Singing Lance (Voltron), Slow Burn, They're both a mess, Waiter Keith (Voltron), klance, klance fluff, non-binary Pidge, they're all in their early 20's btw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-03 16:46:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14000367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uwuraka/pseuds/uwuraka
Summary: Lance, a happy-go-lucky guitarist, and Keith, an antisocial waiter who works at a diner with an artistic flair.Okay, maybe their first conversation in a while didn't end very well. And yeah, they might have started some rivalry between them. Lance will never live up his college years with Keith's stupid sunshine smile up in his face, and the way his warm skin would occasionally touch Lance's arm and send shivers up his spine and-Yeah, Lance really should have just stayed in his dorm that morning.





	Boys Like You

**Author's Note:**

> this strange concept came to my head while i was studying, so i decided to look deeper into  
> it and turn it into a fanfic. <3
> 
> i hope you enjoy this and uhh lemme know what you thought about it!
> 
> (and no, i'm not abandoning my other fics lmao)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance, a happy-go-lucky guitarist, and Keith, an antisocial waiter who works at a diner with an artistic flair.
> 
> Okay, maybe their first conversation in a while didn't end very well. And yeah, they might have started some rivalry between them. Lance will never live up his college years with Keith's stupid sunshine smile up in his face, and the way his warm skin would occasionally touch Lance's arm and send shivers up his spine and-
> 
> Yeah, Lance really should have just stayed in his dorm that morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This strange concept came to my head while I was studying, so I decided to look deeper into  
> it and turn it into a fanfic. <3
> 
> I hope you enjoy this and uhh lemme know what you thought about it! A small reminder that my writing style changes _a lot,_ so my other chapters will be much longer. It may seem like Lance will be the one pining here but trust me - Keith will be doing so much more.
> 
> (and no, I'm not abandoning my other fics lmao)

"That song sucks, Hunk!" Lance grunted.

He leaned forward and rested his head against the cold surface of the table, covering up half of Pidge's pages that they needed for studying. "Lance, stop being such an ass and get off my books," they sighed, though there was a bit of playfulness in their tone.

Lance answered with a few muffled groans and finally lifted up his head to shift his guitar. He was honestly such a mess right now. Just by the way his hair stood up on weird ends and how his eyes narrowed in irritation - you could almost automatically tell that it was just one of _those days._ You know, another miserable Friday evening.

Reaching for the coffee on the other end of the table, he chugged it down, wiping his mouth with a satisfied grumble. "I swear, if I don't find a good song for the talent quest in the next minute, I'm gonna lose my shit!" he blurted loudly. A few children's heads' popped up, eyeing Lance and pointing at him as they tugged their parents' shirts in disbelief.

"I think you just completely forgot there were little kids here, Lance," Hunk deadpanned. "If you're gonna curse, at least do it quietly. This is a diner, after all."

"Yeah, I feel bad for the children you have to take care of at the daycare you work at," Pidge added and snickered.

"Hey, children are great!" Lance scoffed. "At least most. Some kids that I have to look after at work don't stop crying, and it's a pain in the ass."

Hunk hummed. "I can imagine."

Lance took a glance at the clock next to the counter where the customers were paying for their food. _5:24pm._ The taps his fingers were creating on the wooden table had gotten raucous in frustration. Only a plate of french fries and a chocolate milkshake could cure this. His stomach would only growl even more when the scent of hot chips were filling his nostrils.

_Where even was the waiter?_

"Dude quit it with the tapping on the table." Pidge was glaring slightly at Lance from in front of them, twisting off the cap from the iced coffee bottle and drinking it before tapping away on their laptop again. "You have a shit ton of time to figure out which song you'll be playing for the show, calm down a bit."

Pouting, Lance rested his head on the table again. "But I gotta know now! It's unbearable to not think about it!"

A large hand was placed on Lance's shoulder, only looking up to see Hunk smiling down at him. "Would some food make you feel better, my dude?" he asked. Lance accepted quickly and grinned.

"Yes! Hey you! Yes, you! With the black hair and the apron!" Lance called out to a waiter who was leaning against the counter, his pitch black hair pulled into a short ponytail and face looking the other way. Lance watched as the waiter's head perked up a bit, turning his face to reveal long bangs and grey, purple-ish eyes.

Both of them exchanged looks for a moment, eyebrows raised.

"Um.. me?" the waiter questioned, pointing to himself. Lance immediately felt his jaw drop. This guy wasn't only kinda attractive, but he remembered the asshole from college last year. He remembers that annoying snicker whenever Lance stuffed up, or the frown he always made whenever Lance spoke to him. He even remembers those _large eyes._

It was _Keith._

"No way.." Lance muttered under his breath, gawking at him wordlessly.

Both Pidge and Hunk quickly glanced between Keith and Lance, raising their eyebrows in confusion. "Uh.. what do you mean by _no way?"_ Pidge questioned. "That's just Keith. Unless you're staring at someone else?"

Lance squeaked, tugging on Hunk's arm and staring back and forth at Keith and his friends. He was so surprised that he couldn't even get words out of his own damn mouth "W-what!? You know this guy?" he exclaimed, eyebrows furrowed. Pidge and Hunk nodded so casually that Lance was starting to think they didn't even care at this point. "Yeah?" Hunk answers.

"Actually," Pidge started and pushed their glasses up their nose. "I was suggesting we all go to the cinemas in a few days and ask Keith if he wanted to come. Sunday, maybe?"

Keith was still leaning against the counter, not being able to hear a thing they were saying. He shrugged and ignored Lance, not having any idea who he was at all but assuming he was some loud-mouth who wanted unnecessary attention. With that, he looked away and continued brooding.

"Wait, so you guys are like.. friends?" Lance asked and cringed.

His friends nodded. "Mhm."

"But he's such a dick!" Lance argued and put a hand on his hip, using the other hand to gesture at Keith who was still a long distance away. "I remember him being in some of my classes in college, and he was so good at everything and it was _insanely_ annoying."

"Someone's jealous," Pidge snickered.

"I am _not!"_ Lance protested. "Another word outta you Pidge and I'm shoving my guitar down your throat."

"You don't have the balls to, McClain!"

"Guuuuys," Hunk whined. "Can we just ask Keith to order us some food already? I'm starving," he complained and exaggerated his pout even more. Both Pidge and Lance vigorously glared at him.

"Since when are you _not_ starving, buddy?" Lance sighed.

Pidge sighed also, then turned their head to face Keith, his body still slumping against the counter. "Yo, Keith! Come over here!" they called out. Keith flinched, awkwardly stumbling back in revelation as he stared at the group.

Lance felt his eyes widen into the size of saucepans.

_He was looking at them now._

Lance shoved his hands into his pockets and kept his distance, slightly frowning. He didn't have to look to know Keith was strolling up to the table; the faint sounds of footsteps only meant one thing. The thing is, it had been _ages_ since Lance had last seen that senseless, annoying face that made him feel weird in the stomach.

"Hey," Keith mumbled and lifted up his hand, not really smiling but his face seemed relaxed.

Oh.

_Oh._

His facial features were so much more _clearer_ once he was closer and unhindered, arms crossed and leaning slightly against Pidge who was sitting cross-legged on the restaurant sofa. Lance examined his body up and down but tried to intimidate his 'so-called rival' with a frown. Pidge just looked up at Keith and smiled.

"So Keith," they started, "what do you think about going to the movies with me, Hunk and Lance?"

Keith's eyebrows raised at the last name Pidge had said, and he shared a quick glance with Lance, biting his lip. Lance scowled as soon as they made eye contact once again, making Keith glare at him uncomfortably. It was pretty obvious what Keith was thinking about him so far, due to the looks Lance was exchanging at the moment.

The waiter turned his head to view Pidge again. He lowered his gaze and bit his lip even harder. Movies? The four of them? Including someone, he hardly even knows yet? Keith didn't even enjoy talking to people, strangers especially. This stranger didn't even _like_ him.

"You seriously want _me_ to come with you?" Keith scoffed and smirked crookedly.

"Of course, dude!" Hunk beamed. "I've been waiting so long to catch up wi-"

"Nope! No, we don't!"

The whole table (including Keith) faced Lance, eyebrows furrowed. "Lance, not now!" Pidge grunted, scowling at the guitarist who was sitting in front of them all. Lance could be _such_ a handful at times, and he was the most dramatic person any of his friends had ever known. Ever.

"Who's this guy?" Keith was no longer leaning against Pidge and was instead crossing his arms, lips pressed tightly together in annoyance. It was an intimidation trick, but Lance knew exactly what it was, and he wasn't going to let it succeed.

He cleared his throat and cocked his head to the side. "I," he started, "am Lance McClain."

The whole table was quiet.

Instantly, the shit-eating grin that plastered Lance's entire face was slowly shrinking away once he examined the looks that the three were giving him: Hunk was facepalming as Pidge was massaging their temples in impediment, unlike Keith, who instead had an eyebrow raised with a tiny pout.

He didn't seem alarmed _one bit._

In fact, he didn't even flinch at the name.

"Seriously?" Lance whined. "It doesn't even ring a bell? Not even from college?" All he was hoping for was Keith's head to perk up a little, so that cute, oblivious looking pout would instantly disappear and turn into an outraged grimace of furrowed eyebrows. All he wanted was for Keith to remember Lance from at least a few of his classes, and to-

No, scratch that.

He _needed_ him to remember.

_Was it too much to ask for?_

Keith shrugged and cocked his hip to the side a little. "I'll just say right now that I don't recognize your loud and irritating voice from anywhere."

He earned a few snickers from Pidge and Hunk.

"Umm, excuse me? I am _not_ loud and irritating!" Lance fumed and slammed one hand on the table in front of him. "Besides, at least I don't have a fucking mullet."

Pidge couldn't help but snort that time. It didn't even matter how hard they tried to keep it in, it was almost impossible to not let at least one chuckle escape their mouth. Hunk nudged their leg from under the table as a warning to zip it, but it only made the situation worse.

Aimlessly, Keith rolled his eyes and deadpanned. "I really couldn't give two shits about what you think about my hair."

"Oh, yeah!? Well I, uh.." Lance's eyes darted across the room, searching desperately for a reply so he could avoid looking like even more of an idiot. Lance _knows_ he's an idiot. But will he ever admit it? Nope. Never ever, not in a million years. But what he could admit was how Keith's glare was really killing him right now.

"I'm not in the mood for wasting my time," Keith mumbled before giving Lance one more glare and looking away. "I'll catch up with you later, Pidge and Hunk."

"Wait, Keith!" The said waiter turned his head to look at Hunk who had called his name. "But what about Sunday? Will you be coming with us, dude?"

Keith frowned slightly and looked at Hunk, then Lance, then Hunk, then Lance again. Honestly, Keith _despised_ going out. He only did that sort of stuff on special occasions, or when he was actually in the mood (which was insanely rare). Yet, he hasn't been out with these two friends since god knows when. He knows he misses them.

But it was just this _Lance_ guy.

This stuck-up, ignorant and full-of-himself dude with kinda nice eyes who Keith didn't even know. _College?_ What does he even mean by _college?_ Keith dropped out months ago but he never takes notice of this guy's face before, even though it seemed quite familiar - it still didn't make sense to him.

His eyes shifted towards the ground. "I.. I'll think about it," he shrugged before walking off and disappearing into the kitchen situated behind the counter.

"Way to go, Lance," Pidge grunted before taking another sip of their coffee again. "Now you made him all emo again. We'll have to order from a different waiter and persuade Keith to join us on Sunday over text later on."

"Not my fault he's super emotional," Lance sneered, dramatically crossing his arms and leaning back against the restaurant sofa.

 

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

 

 

He didn't take his eye off Keith for a _second._

From every small step he shuffled around the tables to every large stretch he took to reach a certain object - it didn't matter. He was examining the guy like _hell,_ but that didn't stop Lance from avoiding to make it obvious. His body may have been slumped up next to Hunk with his hand resting on the table, but his eyes?

They were a whole other story.

The group of young adults had been sitting at the table for two hours now: eating, ordering, studying and just talking amongst each other. Pidge wasn't eating much and was instead taking sips from their iced coffee glass whilst working on a project, whereas Hunk was scoffing down a few doughnuts and reading a book.

Of course, Lance couldn't look left out here and decided to grab a magazine not so far away from the table they were at, but he had different plans in store other than actually read it. Lance McClain? Reading? Those two words are a grammatical error to be put in the same sentence.

His eyes peered over the corners of the page, following each step Keith took. The guy was _all over_ the place. First, he was serving a few customers, then he'd be brooding in the corner for a minute, then he'd be dashing behind the kitchen again for a split second. Lance was starting to consider that this was a normal procedure for waiters/ waitresses, but then he thought again;

Was Keith even enjoying his job?

"I'll be _riiight_ back," Lance spoke, casually pushing himself off Hunk and onto his feet. He grabbed his guitar also, holding it behind him.

"Whoa whoa, wait, where are you going?" Hunk called out to him but received no reply. Lance knew he was going to find out sooner or later.

The black-haired male was leaning against the counter again, staring at his hands with a sour look. It only took him a few seconds to recognize a figure coming into view in the corner of his eye, making him turn around and scowl. "What do you want?" he sighed, obviously irritated.

Lance had no other option but to scowl back, but once he took his guitar off the tops of his shoulder a slight smirk appeared on his face. "Hey, calm down dude," he scorned before leaning his elbow on the counter as well and _directly_ facing Keith.

It was silent between them for a couple of seconds, before Keith broke the tension with a frown. "Again, _what do you want?_ " His voice was sterner this time, and Lance could admit he was a bit caught off guard. He stared into his eyes for a little longer, before strumming one string from his guitar.

Keith sighed and put a hand on his forehead. "What the hell are you do-"

 _"Oh, your mullet is ugly as fu-uck."_

The waiter immediately groaned, crossing his arms while gritting his teeth. He had to admit, Lance's singing was pretty good, but to an asshole like him? Especially by what he's singing about? Never. "Lance, fuck off," he grunted and moved aside, fists clenched. "I don't even know you."

Lance neglected the irritated voice and strummed the strings of his guitar once again. _"All you ever do is frown and tell me to fuck off, yeah."_

Keith didn't have to turn around to know that Lance was following him - he could hear its annoying tune right behind him. He sighed loudly, clutching a glass drink in his hands as he carried it to a table. "Last warning, idiot," he snapped. But did Lance listen?

No.

_"Oh-oh, you're just a bitch to me-"_

_"I said fuck off!"_

The entire restaurant fell silent, everyone's eyes falling onto Keith and Lance. The two glanced around nonchalantly, biting their lips' throughout the shameful spotlight. Keith didn't have a choice but to take in a deep breath and continue walking as if nothing had happened - even though he felt like slapping the shit out of Lance.

"Wait, Ke-"

Keith curved his head to probe Lance one last time, deadpanning with probably the scariest glare Lance had ever witnessed - it was a warning. Lance pouted, then put the guitar on his shoulders again and stumbled backward, looking away. He knew he had pissed him off, and if he spoke anymore, it would only make the waiter act in an even worse condition.

Everyone's eyes were still deposited on Keith, a few on Lance, as he made his way back to the table Pidge and Hunk were occupied at. They shook their heads, Lance answering with a few apprehensive chuckles - his friends didn't chuckle back. "Seriously, Lance?" Pidge responded. "You really just did that?"

Yes, he really _did_ just do that. He doesn't understand _why_ he's like this - it just happens. He always tries to seek the attention he needs. Sometimes, Lance questions why he even proceeds to try to talk to people, especially when he knows all he ever does is annoy them and make them upset and aggravate them and-

"Dude?"

Hunk had snapped the guitarist out of his daydream, waving a hand in front of his face. Poorly, Lance could only sigh, sulking as he slumped his body up against Hunk on the rough surface of the restaurant sofa.

"Guys, when do we get to go back to our dorms?" he winced.

Pidge sighed their typical sigh but chuckled after a couple of seconds, shutting the lid of their laptop and jostling the pile of books into their pale green bag, making Lance's head perk upwards. "C'mon, lover-boy," they laughed, "let's get you home."

Immediately Hunk was nudged to the side once Lance had slid his elbow off him, jumping to his feet. "Yes! Finally, we can- Oh, sorry buddy," Lance beamed, then continued to follow behind Pidge.

"See ya, Keith!" Pidge called, including a small wave from Hunk.

For a few seconds, Lance turned his head to view where the waiter was situated: leaning against the counter again, elbows resting on its surface with the palm of his hand against his cheek. But this time, he wasn't glaring or frowning - he had a delicate and fond smile on his face, eyebrows arched slightly with lips curving at its ends.

_Look at those stupid eyes. And stupid hair. Gross._

The guitarist felt his face scrunch up. Once he tucked his warm hands into the hems of his pockets, it didn't take him long to realize his friends were way ahead of him, and he was there staring at his rival. Like a _complete_ idiot.

 

Even more of an idiot than Keith is.

⠀⠀  
⠀⠀  
⠀⠀

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoa congrats for reading it to the end
> 
>  
> 
> let me know what you thought in the comments, kudos are highly appreciated! :)  
> again, thanks for reading, anon.

**Author's Note:**

> whoa congrats for making it to the end
> 
>  
> 
> let me know what you thought in the comments, kudos are highly appreciated! :)  
> again, thanks for reading, anon.


End file.
